Axe-Fx into power amp and cab sounds like cardboard, what's up ?

S

Stevenstrat

Member
When I try to use my Axe-FX trough a power amp and real cab, it always sounds very thin and two dimensional. Also no real low end to speak of.
Cab sims are off, this happens with any preset. I need to boost the lows A LOT and in the highs there's a extremely raspy and fizzy quality.


What am I doing wrong ? Currently, even with a lot of tweaking doesn't hold a candle to a real amp.
 
Stevenstrat said:
When I try to use my Axe-FX trough a power amp and real cab, it always sounds very thin and two dimensional. Also no real low end to speak of.
Cab sims are off, this happens with any preset. I need to boost the lows A LOT and in the highs there's a extremely raspy and fizzy quality.


What am I doing wrong ? Currently, even with a lot of tweaking doesn't hold a candle to a real amp.
Click to expand...

Not my experience at all. Try reloading firmware, make sure speaker cab is disabled on output 2, and try power amp sims both on and off.
 
ok guys, update.

power amp sims were on, and I will leave that on.


I got it to sound fatter by increasing the depth, that helped quite a bit, but there's still a fizzyness around the notes, and it still sounds a bit lifeless and feels strident.
I'm using an electro harmonix magnum 44 power amp.

Would a tube power amp (fryette power station for example) be a solution ?
 
Don't be afraid of the Global EQ. If things sound weird in the high end, pull back some 4K or whatever. Forget about "I shouldn't have to..."

I don't know what cab you are going in to, and even if you tell me, I probably will not be that familiar with that cab, but guitar cabs have wildly different responses/sounds. Go through some of the IRs in the cab block and listen to how differently they sound--some can sound amazingly like crap or great depending on what you send into them. You may have one that has a very strong "personality," and if you are running amps/sounds into it that are other than what the designer intended, you may have to do some EQing. Nothing wrong with that!

In my experience, you will find the difference between power amps somewhat subtle compared with the power of EQ. I myself (and many others) get great sounds using a completely transparent solid state power amp.

One more thing. IMHO you need a LOT more powerful sold state amp than you think, especially if it is Class D (the really light ones). if you push those into any kind of clipping AT ALL they sound horrible (kind of like what you have described). I use a Matrix 800GT into 8 ohms, and I don't think my stage volume (bandmates may disagree lol) is all that loud. I switched to running bridged (800W now!) into a single EVL (200W). Gain levels are way down now and the difference is like night and day.

So, that's all I got. Good luck!
 
cemusic said:
OK I just looked up what a Magnum 44 is. Good god...Please try a real power amp 8)

Please...!
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I agree. I used my buddies EH a few times when I was repairing my fryette. The EH magnum sounded like crap. It was like holding headphones up to a coffe can to amplify the sound. Pure donkey dung. Get a "real" power amp. What you're doing is like putting a Ferrari paint job on a pinto station wagon
 
Here is a A/B side by side test I did with the Carvin HD1500 Solid state amp and the Carvin TS100 tube amp. Both Stereo. They are both great amps and I am selling both of them. Not cause I dont like them but I am using a regular guitar amp now and running the 4CM.

Amp test: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ToAAiUh6vY

Heres one of the HD1500. this is the Axe through the HD through two 2x12 cabs. Its live and a little rough.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XCa1s4BM6k
 
Stevenstrat said:
When I try to use my Axe-FX trough a power amp and real cab, it always sounds very thin and two dimensional. Also no real low end to speak of.
Cab sims are off, this happens with any preset. I need to boost the lows A LOT and in the highs there's a extremely raspy and fizzy quality.


What am I doing wrong ? Currently, even with a lot of tweaking doesn't hold a candle to a real amp.
Click to expand...

Try to set low the Negative Feedback and close the Presence. Then adjust the Master Volume and the Tone Stack..
If you desire more low end, work with the Graphic Eq ; otherwise you could set high the Depth parameter ( but it works
better with the Negative Feedback set to high value ).
 
Check your speakercabs or your poweramp. Maybe two elements are out of phase. Or check your speaker models. Maybe they are
supposed to sound like crap :)
In theori , if you made an IR of your cab, the preset should sound the same through your studio headphones if you inserted it as in the room.
If you know what I mean.


Stevenstrat said:
When I try to use my Axe-FX trough a power amp and real cab, it always sounds very thin and two dimensional. Also no real low end to speak of.
Cab sims are off, this happens with any preset. I need to boost the lows A LOT and in the highs there's a extremely raspy and fizzy quality.


What am I doing wrong ? Currently, even with a lot of tweaking doesn't hold a candle to a real amp.
Click to expand...
 
I remember when i first got my II, i was confused cause it sounded like complete garbage. It goes from the II to a Crown XLS solid state power amp then through a standard orange cab. So I turned off cab simulation and left the power amp sim on. I would expect certain amps to be close to the real deal, but that was the opposite. With extensive tweaking, it still sounded weak, harsh and fizzy. So I just leave on the cab sim on and compensate for the eq change of the cab on the amp. I got the II about a year ago, since then i've got a good clean and pushed clean tone. But haven't nailed a great mid or high gain tone yet. I would make a patch thinking it sounds really good, then the next day it sounds bad to me. So I am making improvements all the time, just at a very slow pace.
 
8195229 said:
I remember when i first got my II, i was confused cause it sounded like complete garbage. It goes from the II to a Crown XLS solid state power amp then through a standard orange cab. So I turned off cab simulation and left the power amp sim on. I would expect certain amps to be close to the real deal, but that was the opposite. With extensive tweaking, it still sounded weak, harsh and fizzy. So I just leave on the cab sim on and compensate for the eq change of the cab on the amp. I got the II about a year ago, since then i've got a good clean and pushed clean tone. But haven't nailed a great mid or high gain tone yet. I would make a patch thinking it sounds really good, then the next day it sounds bad to me. So I am making improvements all the time, just at a very slow pace.
Click to expand...

Interesting that you have had (some) good results thru a real Orange Cab with cab sims ON. Some day when I get time I want to experiment with using a mixer block to mix in a bit of (whatever) cab sim with what I am sending to a real guitar cab. Just a bit. Who knows?

Sorry to hijak the OP's thing here, but I've been thinking about this for a while.
 
Allright, final update: I tried the axe through my two-rock tube power amp and it's much better now. Quite amp like ! Still a bit of fizz in the high end but once I find the frequency I should be able to EQ that out.

Much happier now with the power amp/cab setup, might try it live soon instead of my analog rig.

Additional tips are still welcome, and thanks guys !
 
Stevenstrat said:
Allright, final update: I tried the axe through my two-rock tube power amp and it's much better now. Quite amp like ! Still a bit of fizz in the high end but once I find the frequency I should be able to EQ that out.

Much happier now with the power amp/cab setup, might try it live soon instead of my analog rig.

Additional tips are still welcome, and thanks guys !
Click to expand...

If it's still "fizzy" turn off the power amp modeling.....
 
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